Customer Reviews

Pastor, I Am Gay

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been grappling w/ my own sexual & Christian identities most of my life, even to this day. When I stumbled across this book in my local public library, I picked it up thinking it was a mirror image of my own lifestyle and of how many pastors I've told about my struggles.

Instead, it was just the opposite. It was written by a heterosexual pastor who encountered homosexuality through the confessions of one of his parishoners. That one eye-opening experience for Pastor Bess led to his befriending many more gay men & women in his respective communities, as well as researching the issue from both a Biblical & social perspective and constantly updating his own beliefs on the matter.

I felt his approach to be very friendly, yet professional. He gave many examples of the people he counseled and/or befriended during his years of ministry and beyond, as well as his own words of widsom & advice to those people. But what struck me even more were his thoughts on how Jesus would likely react to the homosexual person, while giving encouragements & admonishments to the modern church based on that. And Bess also gave a sociological background of homosexuality in Biblical times, something I've seen from only one other Christian theologian. With the exceptions of Bess and the other person whose unpublished works I've been privileged to read, every Christian preacher, theologian or other professional has taken the varied passages of Scripture at face value to issue a blanket condemnation of homosexuality.

But what about those of us who are Christians, believers in & followers of Christ? The Bible says in Rom. 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Chist Jesus." So even though I am gay, I am also Christian and thus no longer condemned.

I still have lots of questions about how to live as both a Christian and a gay man, and I'm constantly asking God for His strength & wisdom in order to become the man of God whom I'm called to be. Obviously, one book, no matter how noble or thorough, can't teach me everything, but I really appreciate Pastor Bess's insights. So... after reading the copy from the library, I bought my own copy to keep & read again, so that I can highlight and make notes in it as I feel the need.

As a mother of a gay son, I was challenged to reach an understanding of Biblical passages which, on the surface, present religious reasons against homosexuality. This book is an easily read, straightforward look at a difficult subject written by an evangelical Baptist minister.

Author Howard Bess glorifies Christ in his self-effacement and willingness to be a learner rather than a teacher in the ministry that led to the writing of this book. In so doing, he becomes a master teacher, approaching this difficult issue of homosexuality and the church with wisdom that can come only from listening to the heart of God, his own heart and the hearts of those among whom he ministers. This book takes problems experienced by the gay men and lesbians Bess has known with appropriate seriousness, yet he is discerning in distinguishing between problems that relate to their humanness and those that relate to their sexuality. This book can be a wonderful focus for adult study groups in churches, for gay men and lesbians, for families dealing with a loved one having "come out" and for anyone with a curiosity about the subject.

A Baptist minister challenges Christian churches to re-examine their ideas and prejudices and to look at gays and lesbians as the human beings they are, as diverse a group as any others. He looks at the scriptures long used to justify the judgment and discrimination the churches use against these people, and then suggest ways in which the church and its members can begin to right some of the wrongs done in its name. This book should be read by all who call themselves Christians.

Like the author Howard Bess, I too am an American Baptist Pastor. I felt that his research and documentation concerning gay and lesbian persons was well done. He distilled volumes of research written in this area into easy-to-read and discernable chapters. As an evangelical Christian who advocates on their behalf, his perspective on gay and lesbian people sheds new light from an arena that has previously only been scathing and judgmental. I found his book honest, refreshing, and excellent scholarship. It has helped to answer many of my own questions. I especially enjoyed his use of narrative to effectively illustrate his "tentative conclusions." (His phrase, not mine.) I applaud him for writing this much needed book! I especially recommend it to clergy and counselors who minister to homosexual people. I pray more people can benefit from God's love and grace as a result of this book.

Author Howard Bess glorifies Christ in his self-effacement and willingness to be a learner rather than a teacher in the ministry that led to the writing of this book. In so doing, he becomes a master teacher, approaching this difficult issue of homosexuality and the church with wisdom that can come only from listening to the heart of God, his own heart and the hearts of those among whom he ministers. This book takes problems experienced by the gay men and lesbians Bess has known with appropriate seriousness, yet he is discerning in distinguishing between problems that relate to their humanness and those that relate to their sexuality. This book can be a wonderful focus for adult study groups in churches, for gay men and lesbians, for families dealing with a loved one having "come out" and for anyone with a curiosity about the subject.

Has anyone noticed that this book is going for upwards of $400 on the secondary market?? If Sarah Palin has done one good thing (doubtful at best, but evidently true) it is to publicize Howard Bess' little book! The LEAST we can do is clamor to get it back into print!!!!!!!!! Thank you, Howard, for being a voice of compassion, justice, and common sense in the battle for defending the moral rights of the Gospel! Thank you, Howard, for your courage, your kindness, your goodness. Would that more pastors of the Church (myself included) had the intestinal fortitude to withstand the criticism of our churches, our congregations, and the whole range of homophobes Christendom has nurtured at its very bosom, while driving true sons and daughters of Christ deeper into the closet. We stand on the very cusp of history's seminal moment: we will either embrace the goodness of Christ and the freedom he offers or plunge into the darkness beyond. Howard Bess offers hope that salvation is still possible, even for a religion as immersed in sin as Christianity.

Rev. Bess is just the sweetest, nicest, kindest, understanding man and clergyman I've come across. I'd love to know him!! He doesn't just pass off homosexuality and say that society should give gays everything they want--marriage, children, partnership privileges, etc. He thoughtfully and biblically thinks it all out and then makes his conclusions. He's actually a little too accepting. I understand everything he says and it makes sense, but still---the Christian church in its fundamentalist form is not and will probably ever be prepared to be as open as Rev. Bess is. He is evangelical. The Bible simply does not seem to be open to full acceptance of homosexuals but this book certainly gives hope and presents a greater understanding from a Christian viewpoint of why the church should deal differently with the homosexual who WANTS to be a part of the Christian faith. As he says, many just must continue to stay in the closet. I think it will remain this way for a long time. But a really excellent book, fair and not prone to radicalism like Mel White does, but just a fair and gentle presentation of what the Bible says about homosexuality, about homosexuals he has known and why the Christian church should think and act differently than it does at this time.

6 pages of this 217 page book are devoted to a very narrow and one-sided biblical exegesis on the topic. Disappointing, given Bess is a pastor.

Bess presents 26 semi-fictional biographies of the diversity of the gay population, their experiences, trials and triumphs. Too much! Got sick of it!

Bess uses a 10% gay population figure initially, (a misuse of the Kinsey statistic which actually states there is a 2.4% gay population, but 10% have had an exclusively gay relationship for 3 years in row in their life-time), then states Kinsey's findings cannot be taken seriously given the population sample he used. He then continues using the 10% though he admittedly states there is no published source or study for this figure. He says it's just the popular percentage being used right now.

Much of this book is Bess's opinion, actually prefaced by "I believe" and he uses very few references for the statistics he uses. He believes the 10% statistic is more like 20%; he believes gays are more creative than their heterosexual counterparts, etc. The book was almost entirely and annoyingly subjective or presented a misuse of info, i.e. "homosexuality is entirely genetic/biological" - a conclusion current science hasn't come to, though they believe it is a factor.

It was a frustration to read, especially after reading the carefully researched and very objective book by Grenz, "Welcoming, but not Affirming."